Federal taxes are higher than ever and Americans work more than four months a year on average to fund government at all levels. The typical family now pays almost half of its income in taxes after accounting for all federal, state, and local taxes and fees. This burden is too high and we must work to give folks long term relief.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I am committed to holding the line on spending and giving hard working wage earners a break. This is money that belongs to them to invest or spend as they choose.

The permanent tax relief proposal is based on the belief that tax cuts do not create federal deficits; greater government spending and a soft economy do. For example, the budget deficit of the Reagan Administration resulted not from the tax cut, (revenues actually rose by 56 percent) but from a 69 percent increase in federal spending from $678 billion to $1.143 trillion.

If President Bush's 2001 tax cut "sunsets" at the end of 2010, Americans will suffer the largest overnight tax increase in U.S. history. Tax relief should be permanent to boost economic growth and job creation, generate greater certainty for investment decisions, and protect families and small businesses from a devastating blow.